Yellow-bellied Sea Snake, Pelamis platurus

Snakes of Victoria series

Identification

The Yellow-bellied Sea Snake, Pelamis platurus, is easily recognised by its paddle-shaped tail and distinctive colouration of a dark back contrasting with variously patterned paler sides and belly. It has more than 40 rows of mid-body scales and large regular head scales. Total length of about 80 cm.

Distribution and habitat

This species lives in the surface layers of the open ocean and drifts passively in warm currents. It probably occurs in Victorian waters as a result of drifting down from further north. It is quite helpless on land and sea snakes washed onto beaches during storms seldom manage to return to the sea.

Biology and bite

The Yellow-bellied Sea Snake feeds entirely on small fish, which it immobilises with a potent venom. Females give birth to 1-6 live young.

Care should be taken with this species as it is considered dangerous. If bitten on a limb, apply a pressure bandage, immobilise the limb and seek medical advice immediately. If bitten elsewhere, apply continual direct pressure to the bite site. Do not wash the wound as the venom can confirm the identification of the snake.

Further Reading

Coventry, A. J. and Robertson, P. 1991. The Snakes of Victoria – A Guide to their Identification. Department of Conservation & Environment/Museum of Victoria.

Hi Donna - we suppose it's not out of the question, but there's no way of being certain without seeing the animal - if you have any photographs, feel free to upload and send them through to us via the Ask the Experts page and we'll see what we can do

Wayne
2 March, 2014 23:44

Today, at Victor Harbor, Hayborough beach,
a, small in size sea snake, washed, onto the sand.
Yellow, colouring, was a sea snake.
Moved, the dog, from the vicinity and it was, getting on towards dark, with no, other person's at beach.

Hi Raj, sea snakes are found in the Seychelles. Try internet searches on the following scientific names Pelamis platurus and Enhydrina schistose which is found south of Seychelles.

Discovery Centre
17 November, 2012 16:41

Hi Jenna, these snakes do not feed on people and so have no interest in us. Like most animals this species of snake is only likely to bite if it feels threatened. If you find one washed up on the beach don't pick it up and if you are diving and these snakes are present, give them a wide berth and let them go their way. Just as you would if bushwalking and there was a terrestrial snake on the path.

Hi Christine, You can find the answers to some of your questions in the InfoSheet above. Yellow-bellied Sea Snakes live on the surface of the water well away from land, not on the sea floor or in caves. They are often seen as individuals, but can also form extremely large groups associated with long lines of debris on the sea surface. They are predators creeping up on, or waiting to ambush, prey. They are piscivores (they eat only fish). They do not have many predators; their bright colours act as a warning that the snake is highly venomous. The venom is highly toxic and contains potent neurotoxins and myotoxins that can cause muscle pain and stiffness, drooping eyelids, drowsiness and vomiting, and possibly paralysis and death. If bitten, seek medical attention immediately. Reproduction occurs in warm waters throughout the year, but only during warmer months in cooler waters. They give birth to 2-6 live young from early spring to mid-autumn. Gestation is 5 months.

1] where do these snakes live (ocean floor in caves)
2] what size are they and what colour are they?
3] what do they eat?
4]do they live in groups or on their own?
5] is it a peditor or does it have preditors?
6} how would you teat the wound if bitten ? how often does it reproduce?
i hope u can help me with these answers.

Hi, I was bitten by something in waist deep water at The Farm Beach Killalea on NSW south coast. There was 2 puncture marks on my lower leg that burned and it was red and swollen. The Drs at the hospital said we don't have sea snakes as our water isn't tropical. We have had a lot of rain lately and was just wondering if this could could have been a sea snake?

Hi Blake - we wouldn't be able to suggest an identification for what bit you without seeing an image, however it is safe to assume that if this species can be found in Victorian waters, it certainly is possible that they could be found near Killalea.

Hope this helps

Discovery Centre
16 December, 2011 09:46

Hi Max - the obvious answer is 'the sea', but for more specific distribution information, we reccommend you look at our BioInformatics page on Snakes, which is a clickable link at tthe top roght of this page. You can see distribution maps for many Snakes found in Victoria, including this one.

I saw one of these on the beach today just south of Port Macquarie NSW. It was big and looked like it was still alive and had been moving around in the sand. Prob. swept in on a rough high tide. I kept clear of it with the dog.

We found one of these on Horsehoe Beach yesterday afternoon and, concerned for our two dogs, tried to move it away and found it was still alives so flicked it back into the sea and it swam away! Happy all around!

Hi Cori, it is possible that what you have seen is not the species found around Australia but one of the North American species. You may want to contact the Florida Museum of Natural History who will have more information on the species of snake found in that part of the world.

While snorkeling in Key West Florida yesterday, we came upon a yellow bellied sea snake and followed it around in the shallow warm water. Two other snorkelers saw this as well and as they spend a great deal of time here, they said this was not unusual. All the information on the web says they do not live in the atlantic. Have they been observed in the atlantic?

found fully-grown snake washed up on Seal Rocks Beach. We put it back into the ocean but it kept being washed up and reluctant to stay in water. Decided it was ill or exhausted and would very probably perish if left on the sand. Have numerous marine aquariums and decided to bring it home to recuperate in one of our spare aquariums and will return it to Seal Rocks if it survives. I took photos.

Hi Basti - I am not able to give you husbandry information for this species, but I will say that these snakes are potentially dangerous, with a venomous bite. Please also abide by any regulations or laws in your country pertaining to the collection of wild specimens.

Hi John, sharks and other large predatory fish as well as birds are the more obvious predators of the Sea Snake. As potentially dangerous as sea snakes are they are still vulnerable to attacks from other animals. Many birds are very adept at killing snakes to have for a meal, and snakes that spend their life in the water are no exception.

Hi Les - Having checked this reference book - Cogger, H. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. - it would appear that the Yellow-bellied Sea Snake has a distribution that extends well down the coasts of NSW, so your find would not be unheard of in that location. I hope it recovered! As always, please exercise caution when handling wild reptiles; these snakes do have a venomous bite.

We found one of these alive on the beach at Currarong NSW 15th Mar 2010. We returned it to the water and it started to swim but was struggling in the surf. First time we have seen one here - is it part of it's normal range?

Hi les, just read your recording on the snake you came across on currarong beach all those years ago... I live in culburra but make the walk to currarong by beach every so often ( all 14km return ) and was lucky enough to strike a yellow belly struggling on the sand, brilliant looking snake at a small size ( 25cm ) but great to see but unfortunant I could not return it to the water as it was a large swell and wouldn't co operate lol... Thanks for the info and the read on this site regards brad

MarineTeam
18 December, 2009 14:06

Hi thanks for the nformation it is very interesting. Plz visit our website at www.marineteam.piczo.com
thanx!!!

Thanks Cooper, Lachie and Hayden! We have contacted the Senior Curator of Terrestrial Vertebrates and she thinks that you have done the right thing and that you may have in fact saved the snake. We would like to remind you though that these snakes are venomous and you should be careful.

We found on of these on the beach at Coonnar near Bundaberg this morning. We thought it was dying because it wouldnt go back into the water. It was clearly having some difficulty getting through the breaking surf. Was it wrong of us to get it to go back in the water? We had a big storm the night before